Bee-eaters continue to wow. July 2022

Bee-eaters.

It was great to hear that during July the habits of the Bee-eaters changed and there were numerous comings and goings bringing in food to the nest holes....this meant one thing and that was the chicks had hatched. Followers of the live web cam may have seen up to 3 birds entering the hole recently so there is a lot of feeding happening in both chambers which is great news. I have been volunteering a lot doing night shifts keeping an eye on the nests . On one evening after turning up myself and a RSPB staff member Josh watched a Long eared owl fly over the field and drop into the quarry. We located it in a tree being frantically harassed by a pair of Blackbirds, it didn't hang around too long especially when they started swiping at its head!

Other news in July.

This Hare cut a lovely image sat in the daisy patch.

The male Blackcap was still visiting the garden feeding on the suet blocks and on one occasion brought the female along too. Over the last week or so I haven't seen either birds so could be on another brood or moved on. 

During the month I have seen Oystercatcher pass over the garden, a couple of groups of Whimbrel over, the first group numbering 16 and then the following sighting had 12 birds in. On a warm evening Sarah and I ventured along to the end of the village near Middle Street to listen for Great Green Bush Crickets, a local friend had already heard one calling from this spot and we met him there and sure enough it was calling loudly, but too tucked into the scrub to see anything though.

This is possibly the first White Letter Hairstreak butterfly I have seen in the garden ? I know I have seen Green Hairstreaks but I'm sure this is a first. Although slightly worn you can distinguish the white letter "W" on the lower hindwing, and a lovely bright orange edging too.

 

The Swifts Finally Arrive. May 2022

I am so happy once I see Swifts back in our skies again, on a couple of days they were streaming past the house continually, great sights.

Every morning, it seemed, large groups of Crows and a few Rooks would all head east along the coast, then some would return west later, presuming they were the same birds maybe on a feeding trip to somewhere locally ? 

On one morning dog walk we located a Hybrid Carrion/Hooded Crow feeding in a field with crows between Trimingham and Gimingham. More similar to a Hooded crow except that the grey coloured parts were too dark and not the pale light tones a true bird would show.

A  female type Siskin visited the feeders in the garden, and later in the month a Male bird also fed in the garden, so I am presuming there are breeding birds around somewhere.

As the month got going there were a lot of Jays being seen moving along the coastal areas north of here, I saw quite a few groups of birds heading over. In the second week of May I walked into the garden and heard my first Cuckoo of the year calling from the churchyard, it didn't hang about as I couldn't locate it when I checked but then Sarah had heard one calling near the village hall so it must of been the same bird still moving further. A quick flyby Hobby past the house was the only sighting all month, fingers crossed the weather warms and I may see more pass over.

Common Whitethroats still sang from all over the place, some would be very confiding and watch you pass by just feet away whilst singing away. I wanted to see a Lesser Whitethroat, I was still waiting!, and eventually saw one as we returned from a dog walk one morning, and typically it perched in full view knowing I hadn't got my camera..ha ha!

But I did catch up later and get a few photos

Lesser Whitethroat

The Chiffchaffs could be heard every day and whilst photographing the Lesser Whitethroat one came down low enough for me to grab photos.

Through the second half of the month you may have seen a mini invasion of Painted Lady's through the gardens. It wasn't on the scale that they sometimes arrive in but it was still numerous nonetheless. They are a quick flying butterfly sometimes disappearing as soon as you notice them, but lovely to see when they stop to feed.

This Puss moth was asking for trouble when I found it in the middle of the lane, so it was quickly moved to a safer spot where it rested until night before moving away.

And lastly the Early Purple Orchids. This year Sarah and I counted more plants than ever and they seemed to be widening the stretch they occupy which would be lovely to see a populated bank in years to come, sadly though on another walk past we found that most of the flowers had been cut and taken away. Not a happy sight to see and one I hope doesn't happen again. 

 

August 2021

 August was a split month for the weather, the start was warmer than expected or indeed forecast and then the last half took a grey and windy turn for the worse, but I still managed to obtain some decent sightings and photographs. First up at the start of August was a message of 15 Spoonbills heading east along the coast from Cley, Spoonbill was a new species for me to see here or from the garden but I haven't managed to get a photograph of any as of yet, so as the birds were being tracked along the coast and they reached Cromer still heading my way along the coast I took my Dad, staying at the time, and headed for the clifftops and looked towards Overstrand eagerly awaiting their arrival. It wasn't long before we distantly saw the group all lined out following the cliffs, as they reached Trimingham they seemed to head inland....!! It seemed I wouldn't be getting any photos this time either. But they came back into view and seemed like they couldn't decide on what direction to take, just circling around, luckily they kept to the shoreline and proceeded towards me. 

Happily I now have my Spoonbill photos.

On the 7th Sarah and I watched a lone Red Deer along the lanes towards Gimingham, and also a single Banded Demoiselle along Church Road. I had a few sightings of Curlew moving along the coast during the second week. 

During the warmer days at the start of the month it was very noticeable that Peacock butterflies were having a fantastic year. I have never seen so many, the garden seemed full of them, along with a couple of Commas and Small Tortoiseshell and just one or two Painted Lady's.

This Southern Hawker rested up in our holy tree for a short time.

And a Banded Demoiselle kept hanging around the garden one afternoon, a real delicate and beautifully coloured Damselfly.

My second only Garden Tiger moth (both being seen in Trimingham) this one was crossing the lane on our morning walk, I carefully placed it amongst the side verges.

The second half of the month saw the winds pick up and blow in continuously from the North, sea birds and wildfowl started to move through in numbers, Gannets, Wigeon, Teal and quite a few numbers of Skuas were being reported from along the coast, but mainly distant. Double figures of Swallow passed the coastline on the 21st, probably the last ones to be seen this year?

In July we saw a remarkable number of Mistle Thrushes together, and on the 29th we counted another 9 together heading southeast. Not a packed month I thought but remembering the Spoonbills made it a rewarding one until the last day of the month that is....it all escalated then!

On the morning of the 31st Sarah said to me that she had seen a bird flit over the garden fence into the neighbours, not sure what it was she described the tail as being a red colour, I thought Redstart or Black Redstart, the latter would be new for the garden if it was still hanging around, and sure enough as if on cue the bird flew onto a shed roof and displayed  itself as a Common Redstart, still a lovely bird and only the second one from the garden. I rushed inside to get my camera to get a photograph, it had probably just arrived that morning and as I clicked off a few images it was to be the start of 40 minutes of awesomeness! Not only did it hang around but it began to feed and pose around our garden, over 400 photos later it flew off. What a momentous visit though.

Being a newly arrived bird I thought that I would go and check around the churchyard to see if any other birds had dropped in.

Heading into the churchyard after the episode with the Redstart I was eager to see if maybe a Pied Flycatcher had arrived too. I moved onto the east side and having only been there a minute I saw a bird flit out from under the small yew bush, catch an insect and then zip back in. I picked up on buffish colours on the underparts and thought maybe it was the redstart again, but it was slightly smaller and as it flew out of cover again I immediately saw white in the tail, not a redstart then, and I knew  that I was watching a Red Breasted Flycatcher. Panic set in and I ran straight home, just across the road, to get my camera, this was another species I had seen before and in Trimingham but a photo had eluded me so far. I headed back towards the churchyard and met a fellow birder/friend at that precise moment and eagerly stated "Red Breasted Flycatcher".... we moved on around the church and I located it still in the same yew bush feeding. For the next hour we patiently waited to see this lovely little, elusive and flighty bird move around the trees and give itself up every now and again but it was dull and it kept to darker areas of the trees causing a lot of manual adjustment settings on the camera to be made and a big headache,  happily for me I managed to grab a couple of photographs. It was mentioned that this was the first one to be seen this year which put a silver lining to the day and indeed month.

Much going on in May

Marvellous May.

Looking through my notebook for May I thought I had a few decent entries to write about, so I then checked through my 800 or so photos taken during May and found a few more subjects to add and came out with quite a wildlife filled moth. On a morning walk along the clifftops we saw a few more Swifts passing along the coast and my first pair of Sandwich Terns of the year. Further along the coast in the bigger towns there were good numbers of Swifts which is lovely to hear, but in Trimingham I have only noticed one pair, presumably not enough suitable nesting sites.

Common Swift

I had another 'funky' looking Buzzard over the house, it had also been hanging around Mundesley, it was associating with another buzzard at the time. Lovely to see these paler type birds, so striking.

Little Egrets

Entering the second week the birds were in full song everywhere with some migrant birds still moving through, 3 Little Egrets were a nice sight flying along the cliffs, seen from the garden. I got a Sedge Warbler and Whinchat along the clifftop fields, the Sedge Warbler was only heard as it was tucked away in set-a-side crops, Common Whitethroats were holding territories around the village lanes and clifftop scrub.

 Great Tit

Garden birds were now actively feeding their young, Great Tit, Goldfinch, Blackbird and Dunnocks all seemed to of done well. 

Goldfinch begging for food

Carrion Crow

The young birds had to keep their wits about them, the Crows and Magpies were always on the lookout for an easy meal.

Entering the second half of the month I added a great new bird 'tick' for the garden, a single Turtle Dove flew along the clifftops, high enough above the trees for me to watch it, a lovely addition and a sight that sadly is not seen enough. On the 26th Sarah and I listened to a Cuckoo calling from the coastal scrub behind the house, it didn't call for long but was a welcome sound none the less.

Painted Lady

Even with the glorious sunny days upon us, some days seemed to be butterfly-less. But a few graced us with their appearance, I didn't expect to see a Painted Lady quite so early, what a stunner they are. 

Painted Lady

Orange Tip

Green Veined White

Red Admiral

Marvellous Moths

On the mothing front the number of species being seen were increasing and adding to the year list, but I also managed to trap a few new species not recorded in the garden before. The tally for the year is now standing at 89 macro species.

Lime Hawkmoth

I've waited for a couple of years to get one of these lovely hawkmoths in the garden here, typically another one was trapped a few nights later ( more greener colouring made it identifiable as another)

Puss Moth

This is quite a large moth, lovely patterning.

Orange Footman

Pale Oak Beauty

Light Brocade

This was a welcome new moth and what lovely markings.

Scalloped Hook-tip

Some lovely new moth additions with plenty more species to be on the wing entering June, mind you they will have to run the gauntlet as I've seen a large bat, probably a Noctule by the size, active at the bottom of the garden recently!